


A Mock Town Evening

by LamiaDusk



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-06 21:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15204080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamiaDusk/pseuds/LamiaDusk
Summary: All Claire wanted to do was do some shopping before continuing her journey across the Grandline. A cruel prank played on her by some pirates causes her to be stuck on Jaya, and with nowhere to go, she joins the Bellamy Pirates.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a translation of the rewrite of my fanfiction "A Mock Town Evening", which I wrote and published on a German fanfiction site in 2009. Please let me know if there are any errors in it, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing and translating it!

Chapter 1  
Welcome to Mock Town!

It was a calm afternoon at sea. Claire had just finished writing in her journal and stood up to stretch, admiring the shining reflection of the sun on the water.  
She was alone on the small boat; it was the kind that was only meant to be occupied by one or two people at a time. It was a miracle that Claire had made it as far as she did with this thing. And all alone, too.  
She looked around, yawning. At the far end of the horizon, the dark shape of an island began to appear. If her map-reading skills didn't fail her, that had to be Jaya. The sight of the slowly approaching shore made Claire slightly giddy. Maybe, just maybe, the many weeks of travelling alone had taken a toll on her mind.

Mock Town was the only town on Jaya, and it was mostly inhabited by pirates. The harbour was a busy place; ships entered and left the docks frequently. Pirates of all ages and levels of ability filled the streets and bars of the town.  
A few people shot Claire confused looks as the left her boat and climbed out of it. But she paid them no mind; she was way too occupied with making plans.  
First of all, she needed a drink. Then she had to do some grocery-shopping...  
A small smile snuck its way unto her lips as she made her way through the town. She soon found a bar that seemed good to her. Not really a high-class one but not a complete dump, either.  
The air in the taproom was thick with the smell of alcohol and the smoke of pipes and cigarettes. The patrons were quietly talking among themselves, some of them lifting their heads in curiosity as Claire entered. She sat down at the counter and looked around for a bit. Then she turned to the barkeeper, intent on ordering, but a rough male voice behind her interrupted:“Gimme two of your best for the lady and me.“  
She turned around to tell the stranger off, but she stopped when she recognized the man's face.  
Bellamy, nicknamed „Hyena“. His head was worth 55 Million Beli.  
He sat down next to Claire, cuppig his chin in his hand and smirking at her.  
„You're new here, aren't ya?“  
„I just arrived, yes“, she replied blankly.  
The barkeeper brought their drinks, and Bellamy nodded in the general direction of one of the glasses. „Go ahead. Drink.“  
Now Claire was the one smirking. „Why, thank you. Is that the standard procedure for new arrivals?“  
He stuck his tongue out. „Only for the the pretty ones.“  
Making a slightly dismissive noise, Claire sipped on her drink. „I wouldn't have expected someone with the nickname 'Hyena' to be this... charming.“  
„Hah, so you heard of me, didn't you?“ His grin was so arrogant that Claire would have loved to add some kind of snarky comment, but if this man's bounty was anything to go by, starting a fight with him would have been unhealthy, to say the least. So she remained silent.  
After a few seconds of quiet drinking, during which Bellamy was watching her like a hawk might watch its prey, he started speaking again:“Soooo?“  
„So?“, she shot back, still in a deadpan voice.  
„Does the pretty face sitting next to me have a name, too?“  
She turned her gaze to her drink again. „Claire. My name is Claire.“  
He scratched his chin, appearantly in deep thought. „Claire... can't say I heard of you. No bounty yet?“  
„I prefer not to cause too much of a ruckus.“  
„It's better that way.“ He leaned forward, propping himself up on her knee with one hand, the other still supporting his head. „Would be a pity if someone were to mess up your pretty face.“  
Claire wasn't quite sure what he was trying to do. Was he drunk, was he just provoking her or was he really that bad a flirting?  
She moved her leg, causing him to lose his balance and almost fall. „I'm sorry, but nobody gets that close to me on our first meeting. Nothing personal.“  
Bellamy gave her a puzzled look, then he turned around to a table nearby, where another pirate stood up, hand already on his weapon. Claire vaguely recognized the man as 'Big Kife' Sarquiss.  
Bellamy lifted his hand, signalling his friend to calm down. Then he turned to Claire again. „You've got guts, girl. I like that.“  
Again, she refrained from giving him a snarky answer, hoping that her quietly drinkig would make him lose interest after a while.  
Unfortunately, no such luck.  
„So, why did you come to Jaya?“  
„I just landed here to do some shopping.“

No matter how curt her answers were, he wasn't deterred at all.  
He asked where she came from, where she was going, and so on. When he wanted to know if she would stay in Mock Town over night, she was completely fed up.  
She slammed a handfull of cash onto the counter, not willing to let this pushy man pay for her drink, and left the bar without even saying goodbye.  
After that experience, the town seemed a lot less welcoming to her. She would do her shopping and then leave as soon as possible. No matter how enticing the thought of spending the night in a proper bed was.  
Someone bumped into her, causing her to stumble. She apologized, but the man snapped at her:“Watch where you're going, brat!“  
She watched the man disappear in the crowd, shaking her head and wanting to move on, but then she noticed that her bag was suspiciously light all of a sudden. A simple check confirmed her suspicion: Someone had stolen her wallet!  
Claire turned around, teeth clenched, looking for the man who had bumped into her. She vaguely saw him disappear into an alleyway, and started pursuing him. While doing so, she cursed herself. Of course she had been robbed! This was a town of outlaws! At least that also meant that nobody would come after her for what she was about to do to that guy...  
She didn't even notice that she passed Bellamy as she ran down the street. He had left the bar shortly after her, the failed conquest having soured his mood considerably. And now said failed conquest rushed past him without even acknowledging him. His curiosity was piqued, and he wondered where she was going.

The thief seemed to be pretty sure of himself. He sat on a barrel in that alleyway, counting Claire's money as if he didn't have a care in the world.  
„Hey!“  
He looked up and grinned. Claire couldn't really blame him. Being only 5“7 and dressed in a denim skirt and a white tank-top, she didn't really look intimidating. He probably thought she was a harmless little girl.  
„Did you lose something, kid? I'll help you find it.“ The man chuckled to himself and stuffed the crumpled notes back into the purse.  
Claire grit her teeth. „Go fuck yourself.“ She was too angry to come up with a better answer.  
He sized her up, his grin getting bigger. But suddenly, a shadow from a much bigger body fell on Claire, and the thief's grin turned to a shocked expression. „B-Bellamy! Is the girl with you? I'm sorry, if I had known, I'd... I'd...“  
„Listen up, you little rat: You'll give back what you stole from the lady. And I might let you get away with your hide intact.“  
The man looked to Claire, then to Bellamy and back, before dropping Claire's purse and taking off in the opposite direction.


	2. Stranded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is chapter two. I hope you like it!

Chapter 2  
Stranded

Claire watched the thief taking off while absent-mindedly chewing on the ring of her lip piercing. Her gaze wandered to the man next to her and then to her purse on the ground, before she went to pick it up.  
She took a look into the purse, counting the money inside to make sure none was missing.  
Bellamy approached her once again. „Everything still there?“  
Claire was silent for a moment, but the she nodded. „Yeah... he didn't take anything, as far as I can tell.“  
„I think you owe me for helping you there“, Bellamy said with his usual shit-eating grin, and his smug tone made Claire bite her tongue to stop herself from telling him off.  
„I can't recall asking you for help.“ She stuffed her purse back into her bag and turned around to face him. „Here's some advice: Next time you want to play white knight for a damsel in distress, make sure the damsel is ACTUALLY in distress.“ Her day had been long, and she was not about to let some random asshole patronise her.  
„Why wait 'til shit gets serious? You would have gotten in trouble either way.“  
„Like you know anything about what I can and cannot do. I may not be a big deal, but a common thief is hardly a challenge for ANYONE.“  
„Really? Cute. Still, I helped you, even if you didn't need it. That should be worth something.“  
Claire took a deep breath, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her, and asked:“Alright, I'll bite. Just what kind of reward does my big strong saviour want?“ She couldn't help but make the „big strong saviour“ part sound venomous.  
He leaned over her, just slightly, and suddenly Claire felt herself become aware of just how much taller he was than her.  
„Here's what we'll do: I'll take you to a bar. A proper one, not the dump where we met. And then... we'll see where the afternoon takes us.“  
„Hm...“ Claire gently placed her hand on his chest in a flirtatious gesture. Then she shoved him aside. „No.“  
She left the alleyway, keeping a close eye on her bag. Maybe now she could finally do her shopping and then get the hell off of this island.

Without any more distractions and incidents, Claire managed to buy everything she needed to continue her journey, so her mood had lifted considerably. With her mind already halfway across the sea to her next destination, she made her way to the harbour, where her trusty boat was waiting for her.  
Or rather: It should have been waiting for her.  
The spot where her boat had been was now occupied by a much larger ship. Around its bow, there where crushed pieces of wood floating. No, that couldn't be...  
A man in his early forties approached Claire with a malicious grin. „Oh, I'm sorry, young lady, did that tiny boat belong to you? I'm sure you'll understand that we really needed that spot, so it had to go!“ He laughed, and a few onlookers laughed along.  
Claire's eyes darkend, until she spun around and punched the man square in the face.  
He toppled back, probably more from the surprise rather than pain, and coughed:“That was a big mistake, missy.“  
Claire did not answer, but instead attacked him again, with more force and focus this time. She didn't know how long she let her fists rain upon the man, but somewhere inbetween her punched, he had stopped moving. Someone dragged her and pulled her away from him. Without even looking at who had done that, she ran over to the brink of the dock and looked down to see the remains of pretty much everything she owned. Completely and utterly destroyed. She muttered curses under her breath as the crowd of onlookers dispersed, until there was only one person who payed any attention to her.  
She turned around growled. Why was he still following her?

„Can't you go bother someone else?!“, she snapped at Bellamy, who had been watching her with a thoughtful expression instead of his usual grin.  
„I saw what happened. Sorry about your boat.“ He lightly nudged the bag of groceries that Claire had dropped on the ground. „I just made sure that nobody took your stuff while you were busy.“  
Claire stared at him for a moment, adrenaline from her outburst still rushing through her veins, then she looked away. „Oh... uh... thank you.“ She looked around. „What happened to the guy I beat up?“  
„I think you mean to say 'The guy you beat to a bloody pulp'.“ Bellamy smirked. „Dead.“  
„Dead? That can't be, I just threw a few punches!“  
„I don't know how or why. You don't exactly look strong enough to kill a man with your bare hands.“ He didn't seem bothered in the slightest. „Hey now, don't look so scared. I knew the guy and trust me when I say: He deserved it.“  
„I didn't plan to commit murder today!“  
„To be fair, under the given circumstances it's probably closer to manslaughter than outright murder.“  
„Because that'll keep his comrades away from me. 'Don't worry, guys, I didn't murder your friend, I just manslaughtered him!'“  
Bellam scratched his chin. „Yeah. I know his captain, too. Pretty nasty guy, and he won't let this one slide.“  
„Fantastic.“ Claire groaned and rubbed her forehead. „Fucking fantastic.“  
„Listen, it looks like you'll be stuck here for a while. Plus, you've managed to piss off a bunch of very, very dangerous people. That sounds like a lot of trouble for you. Unless...“  
Claire looked up in suspicion. „Unless?“  
„Unless you have a bunch of even more dangerous people to protect you!“ He grinned triumphantly, sticking out his tongue.  
„You just won't give up, will you?“  
„Hey, I'm just trying to be nice.“  
She sighed. „I see how it is. The vultures bolt when the hyena comes, right?“  
„Exactly! So, you in or out?“  
„I suppose I have no other choice, then.“ She grabbed Bellamy's outstretched hand.  
He pulled her to his side, laying an arm around her shoulders as if to make sure she wouldn't run away. „Fantastic! Believe me, you'll love being a member of the Bellamy pirates-“  
„Hold your horses, Hyena. You said you would protect me, but you never said anything about me joining your crew.“  
„It'd be easier to protect you if you were a member of the crew.“  
Claire remained silent and made sure not to look at the man next to her.


End file.
